I take out the the Democrat and Chronicle the other night and read the headline: “JAPAN WILL ACCEPT TERMS” TOKYO RADIO ANNOUNCES! The Date is Tuesday, August 14th 1945. This edition is a mere four cents!!

I bought a bunch of old newspapers a few years ago at a garage sale and just got around to looking at them. Times sure have changed. Just for laughs, there’s an ad that states:WANTED: FEMALE HELP–Part time or Full time. Ages 18 to 45. No Experience NecessaryNowadays that company would have a law suit on their hands faster than I just typed this.Another ad says: WOMEN, AIRLINES NEED YOU! World’s Most Glamorous Industry. Talk with pilots by Radiophone; meet celebrities; route passengers to far distant points. Airline plans for after war expansion offer wonderful opportunities for advancement. If you are between ages of 17 and a half and 35, married or single, get full information TODAY. You can stop laughing now.

I had this yellow paper sprawled across my living room floor trying not to disturb the pages too much when something caught my eye: a photo–a photo of Father Elmer Heindl sixty one years ago! As most of you know, Father Heindl passed away last week at the age of ninety six. What are the chances that this story would be in this paper, and what made me take out these old newspapers now? I wonder.

It turned out to be a great story about Father Heindl receiving the Silver Star for courage. A portion of it read: On April 17, during the campaign for Baguio, Captain Heindl, chaplain of an infantry regiment, was forward with advance units of a rifle company when the entire column was attacked by two enemy tanks. In the point-blank fire battle which ensued, many of our forces were wounded. But despite the continued attack, Chaplain Heindl went from one to another of the wounded to administer first aid and assist in their evacuation. A heavy Japanese mortar concentration fell on the area causing still more casualties. However, Chaplain Heindl remained with his patients…

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Caurie Putnam covers Greece and the rest of the west-side as the "West Extra" columnist for Our Towns. She is a proud west-side resident of two little boys who is in Greece often for yoga at Breathe, skate sharpening at Locker Room Sports, hockey games at Lakeshore, and much more. To share upcoming Greece events and items of interest with Caurie please email her at caurie@urgrad.rochester.edu or contact her on Twitter @CauriePutnam